Central Park

1989. USA. Directed by Frederick Wiseman. Gazing on Olmsted and Vaux’s democratic vistas, Wiseman captures the rhythms and spirit of one of the world’s greatest public parks. Bird watchers, lovers, artists, flâneurs, athletes, activists, musicians, dog walkers, actors, tai chi practitioners, newlyweds, a legendary mayor and a legendary filmmaker—all in a state of urban reverie, though one quintessentially indignant New Yorker, informed that she can’t sell t-shirts at a peace rally, compares her encounter with the park police to life during Nazi Germany. The timing of Wiseman’s film in 1989 seemed particularly felicitous, as the New York City Parks Department and the Central Park Conservancy (a public-private partnership that was not without controversy) had begun to transform and heal the park after years of neglect. 176 min.

Related Publication

Frederick Wiseman
Edited by Joshua Siegel and Marie-Christine de Navacelle

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